Peer-Review Definition
Peer-review: "A process by which a scholarly work (such as a paper or a research proposal) is checked by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards before it is published or accepted."
- Merriam Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peer%20review
What are "peer-reviewed" journals?
A peer-reviewed journal is a special type of publication. Before articles are published within these types of journals, they are sent by the editors of the journal to other scholars in the field ("peers"), often anonymously, to get feedback on the quality of the scholarship, review research methods, as well as relevance or importance to the field. The article may be accepted, often with revisions suggested, or rejected for publication. Many journals have low acceptance rates.
To find peer reviewed articles, type your keywords into WPI Library Search, and then choose the Peer-Reviewed Journals filter on the left.
Database Activity:
Divide into groups. In your group, explore one of the databases below. Go to the Advanced Search page. Try searching for a variety of keywords related to your research topic. Try out some of the search filters. What kinds of sources can you find in this database? What do you like about the database? What do you dislike? At the end of this activity, be prepared to give a brief demonstration of the database to the class.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
Full text access to scholarly humanities, social sciences, and mathematics journals.
Indexing and full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world on various humanities topics.
Within most databases, click on the FullTextFinder (
) link to get options for obtaining the full text of the article.
Does WPI Library subscribe to the journal? Search our eJournals collection to find out.
Is the article not available through the library's subscriptions? Request delivery from another library: ILLiad Interlibrary Loan.